If that ever happened we might see questions like “How many stones do I need to lose to be American lean?”. It’s just too much confusion.
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Hilarious. The math stays easy, though, as the answer is always 0
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Swede Burns panting moderately throughout the video - even without any resistance? I got more concerned about his health than his good advice. Don’t show this to the “strength training is not cardio” guys on the forum.
Btw, I found it a bit strange he didn’t focus on the movement of the bar (the intent of moving the bar from A to B and back again, with proper positioning), which I personally find of great value, to me even more important than leg drive. But, who cares? Bench press is a fucked up excercise anyway you put it.
Agreed.
I believe some years ago, he dropped a 500lb bench on his chest, breaking his spine - among other things. This is probably a result of that, if I were to guess.
No comment on the rest of your thoughts - it isn’t a video for beginners. My bench has always been shit anyways, probably because i never did leg drive right.
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I think this is sort of missing the mark - the lifts are just a means to an end. A “powerlifting program” is a program intended to make someone a better powerlifter. 5/3/1 is what Wendler came up with after he retired from powerlifting: it’s a general framework for strength/athletic training, rather than a powerlifting-specific program. That’s why there’s so much emphasis on stuff like conditioning and jumps/throws, which would be tangentially useful at best to a powerlifter.
“Today I have different aspirations [than powerlifting]. I want to be able to do a bunch of different activities and still kick ass in the weight room. I want to be as mobile, flexible, strong, and in as good a condition as I possibly can. That’s how I came up with 5/3/1” (5/3/1: How to Build Pure Strength).
“Prior to your PR set, make sure you have a definitive goal in mind, which may include effort, bar speed and form. Always leave a rep or two in the tank” (5/3/1 Forever).
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This is how you can tell I’m not a powerlifter.
Im still going to stick with my opinion that any program which specifically trains powerlifts is a powerlifting program, but it can be stretched and used for other purposes. I certainly wouldn’t call it a “bodybuilding program”, but “strength template” sounds accurate here too.
It would be hard to stretch a single strength template into 4 books without throwing more stuff at it IMO.
I do not own 531 forever. I have the original and 531 beyond, I didn’t see a need to make another purchase.
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TL;DW:
Reps dont matter, so long as you are training to failure.
NOTE: lower rep ranges tend to work better from a fatigue management perspective.
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I definitely find this to be true about Dr. Mike. I enjoy his videos but I do think he’s off the mark a bit when it comes to failure training. I’ve never done one of his programs because I find them to be “too simple” And “too easy” For someone at my level of development. Not that I’m Mr. Olympia or anything, but I just believe that I need a greater stimulus to set forth muscle growth at this point.
Also the way he trains with pros is quite a bit different than the way he recommends training in his videos. He uses way more failure sets and intensity techniques with the big dudes and I think that kind of says something.
Edit: I also love Paul Carter lol
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I understand his point in why he recommends 2-3RIR for most training, and he does an excellent job of explaining it in his book (i have it) regarding Volume, Intensity and Frequency.
Except the core of that data lies upon the belief that the last 5 reps to failure are all equal in effectiveness… data shows that 2 or less RIR begin to show additional growth over the prior reps. So by ignoring this, his data and coaching method are bunk, unfortunately.
I’ve pointed this out more than once lol.
If you’re down with sending me an email, I’d like to talk to you offline. My email is secure.
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